Grant administration system

ABSTRACT

A method and system are disclosed for facilitating the completion of a questionnaire. A storage medium stores a plurality of questions and associated answers. Similar questions are linked. An interface presents to a user through a computer network a presented question as part of a questionnaire to be completed. The interface also presents to the user answers associated with similar questions linked to the presented question. Upon user selection, an answer to a similar question is stored as an answer to the selected question. The user may modify the answer. The method and system may present additional questions and answers associated with similar questions linked to the additional question. A user may have access to stored questions, add questions, and link similar questions. Answers to questions may be stored before the user completes the questionnaire. The questionnaire may include fields populated with information previously supplied by the user without user selection. The storage medium may be a database.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of data processing and inparticular to software systems that support information transfer betweenorganizations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Non-profit organizations are able to exist and provide services largelydue to financial grants provided by foundations and other sources ofcharitable donations. Administration of these grants by the non-profitsand the foundations that make them is a central focus for theseorganizations. Grant administration primarily centers on preparingproposals and reports about the grant. The reports are typicallysubmitted on a regular basis, such as quarterly. These reports typicallyconsist of a description of the services rendered with the grant moneyduring the reporting period, a description of the prospective servicesto be rendered during the upcoming reporting period, and budget dataregarding how much of the grant money has been used and will be used.Generally the questions and answers to these recurring reports arerepetitive, but not necessarily identical.

Non-profit organizations often receive multiple grants from multiplefoundations. While receiving different grants from differentfoundations, the reporting requirements of different foundations aretypically similar. The reports generally ask for similar informationregarding the different grants in a similar manner. Thus, in addition tothe repetitive nature of recurring reports, non-profits commonly have tocomplete similar reports for different foundations.

In many cases, foundations have very specific reporting requirementsthat include prepared questionnaire forms for completion by thenon-profit organization. In other cases, the foundations have lessformal reporting requirements in which case the non-profit organizationhas some discretion as to how they prepare their report on theadministration of the grant. In either case, preparation of theseproposals and reports on a regular basis requires a significant amountof data preparation and entry.

A number of software tools are currently known that support grantadministration by non-profit organizations and foundations. Thesesoftware tools generally consist of a template that integrates with acommonly available word processing program that enables non-profits toprepare and complete reports using a stand-alone computer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A recent report by the Center for Effective Philanthropy concluded that13% of every foundation grant dollar is spent on grants administration.Thirteen cents on every dollar granted—$4 billion annually—are thereforenot being spent on service delivery. There is therefore a need to reducethe time and cost of grants administration to increase the amount ofservices delivered by non-profit organizations to maximize the value ofexisting grants.

A grant administration system uses computer-based software forfacilitating communication about grants between nonprofit organizations(grantee organizations) and donor foundations (grantor organizations).Rather than submitting grant reports and proposals as conventionalcomputer documents or email attachments, grantees submit reports andproposals to grantors through the computer based system over a computernetwork.

The grant administration system is a customizable online reporting andproposal tool which allows foundations to ask questions unique to theirreporting processes. It also identifies common information (contactinformation, financials, etc.) so that information only has to beentered once by the nonprofit organization, regardless of the number ofproposals and reports it submits, thereby reducing the time andresources required for administering the grant.

The grant administration system includes a software tool thatfacilitates the requesting, provision, and sharing of informationbetween two or more parties. The system allows for a “many-to-manyrelationship,” wherein multiple grantor organizations and multiplegrantee organizations can communicate with each other.

The grant administration system includes a grantee module where granteeorganizations can view and manage grants made by grantor organizations.The grant administration system includes a grantor module where grantororganizations can view and manage grants made to grantee organizations.The grantor and grantee modules are accessible to users from non-profitorganizations and foundations over a computer network such as theinternet through a graphical user interface in the grant administrationsystem. The grantor user employs the grantor module to create acomputerized questionnaire for the grantee user regarding theadministration of the grant. The computerized questionnaire includes aplurality of questions.

The grant administration system supports the completion of thecomputerized questionnaire with a database that allows for reuse ofpreviously-entered information by tagging similar questions and linkingthose questions to their respective answers. The grant administrationsystem allows grantee users to search for and reuse a portion or all ofan answer to a previously answered question that is the same as orsimilar to the currently presented question. This preferably is done forany question having relatively complex information, such as a prosediscussion of goals or accomplishments in a reporting period, or budgetinformation. Some simple fields may be pre-populated without beinglinked to similar questions, such as a date of a questionnaire or thename and address of a grantee. It therefore enables the grantee user tocomplete repetitive proposals and reports faster by being able to reuseresponses to previously answered questions that are similar to the onesin the current proposal or report. The same or similar questions storedin the database are identified as similar by a database operator usingtags. Alternately, grantees may be given access to add questions, searchfor and identify similar questions, and link similar questions similarlyto the way a database operator would. The answers are linkedrespectively with the tagged questions and are accessible by a granteefor reuse in completing proposals and reports to grantors. The databasepreferably may be updated in near-real time so that answers may be addedto the database before a grantee actually completes and submits aquestionnaire to a grantor. Answers and links may be stored in othermanner than a centralized database, such as in storage capacity at thegrantee or grantor location or in an XML file.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is further described in the detailed descriptionwhich follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of certain embodiments of the present invention,in which like numerals represent like elements throughout the severalviews of the drawings listed below.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for information transferbetween organizations.

FIG. 2 illustrates an organizational diagram of a software system forinformation transfer between organizations.

FIG. 3 illustrates a screen shot of a login screen.

FIGS. 4-28 illustrate screen shots of software screens for a granteeorganization.

FIGS. 29-41 illustrate screen shots of software screens for a grantororganization

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen shot of a grantee user screen.

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen shot of a calendar tool on a grantee userscreen.

FIG. 5a illustrates a screen shot of a view all reports screen

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report tool on a reportscreen.

FIG. 7 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report screen.

FIG. 8 illustrates a screen shot of a find-similar-questions screen.

FIG. 9 illustrates a screen shot of a find-similar-questions screendisplaying a previous response.

FIG. 10 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report-screen populatedwith a previous response selected from the find-similar-questionsscreen.

FIG. 11 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report-screen whereexternal documents may be attached to the report.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report-screen wherebudgetary information is provided.

FIG. 13 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report-screen where agrantee may preview an edited report.

FIG. 14 illustrates a screen shot of an edited report in a PDF format.

FIG. 15 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report-screen where areport may be submitted.

FIG. 16 illustrates a screen shot of a grantee screen showing aconfirmation of a submitted report.

FIG. 17 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen where a granteeuser can add a funder to a list that tracks reports made to funders.

FIG. 18 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen where a granteeuser can add a funder to a list that tracks reports made to funders.

FIG. 19 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen where a granteeuser may add information about a funder.

FIG. 20 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen where a granteeuser may add information about a funder.

FIG. 21 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen where informationabout a funder is viewed.

FIG. 22 illustrates a screen shot of an add-grant screen.

FIG. 23 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-grant screen where grantreports are defined.

FIG. 24 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-grant screen where grantsare viewed.

FIG. 25 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-grant screen where grantsare viewed.

FIG. 26 illustrates a screen shot of a template screen.

FIG. 27 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-template screen.

FIG. 27a illustrates a screen shot of a build-template tool on atemplate screen.

FIG. 27b illustrates a screen shot of an add-document tool on a documentlibrary screen.

FIG. 27c illustrates an add-program tool on a settings screen.

FIG. 28 illustrates a screen shot of a logout screen.

FIG. 29 illustrates a screen shot of a grantor user screen.

FIG. 30 illustrates a screen shot of a grant-report screen for viewinggrants.

FIG. 31 illustrates a screen shot of a view/edit organizations screen.

FIG. 32 illustrates a screen shot of a view/edit organizations screenshowing information for a particular grantee organization.

FIG. 33 illustrates a screen shot of an internal-report screen.

FIG. 34 illustrates a screen shot of a view-report-in-PDF-format screen.

FIG. 35 illustrates a screen shot of a view-analysis screen.

FIG. 36 illustrates a screen shot of a view-edit-template screen.

FIG. 36a illustrates a screen shot of a view all templates screen.

FIG. 36b illustrates a screen shot of an add template screen.

FIG. 36c illustrates a screen shot of a build template tool on atemplate screen.

FIG. 37 illustrates a screen shot of an add-grant screen.

FIG. 38 illustrates a screen shot of a define-grant reports screen.

FIG. 39 illustrates a screen shot of a view-edit grants report screen.

FIG. 40 illustrates a screen shot of a view-analysis screen.

FIG. 41 illustrates a screen shot of a view-analysis screen.

FIG. 42 illustrates a schematic of an interactive database that containsquestion and answer information for use with a find-similar-questionsbutton and a use this answer button.

FIGS. 43-45 illustrate tables of an interactive database that containsquestion and answer information for use with a find-similar-questionsbutton and a use this answer button.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes ofillustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention onlyand are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be themost useful and readily understood description of the principles andconceptual aspects of the present invention. In this regard, no attemptis made to show structural details of the present invention in moredetail than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of thepresent invention, the description taken with the drawings makingapparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of thepresent invention may be embodied in practice.

The grant administration system is a customizable online reporting andproposal tool which allows foundations to ask questions unique to theirreporting processes. It also identifies common information (contactinformation, financials, etc.) so that information only has to beentered once by the nonprofit organization, regardless of the number ofproposals and reports it submits, thereby reducing the burden ofpreparing these repetitive reports. Resources not devoted to grantsadministration can then be redirected toward programming, ultimatelyincreasing both the nonprofit's and the foundation's social impact.

The grant administration system includes a software tool thatfacilitates the requesting, provision, and sharing of informationbetween two or more parties. The system allows for a “many-to-manyrelationship,” wherein multiple grantor organizations and multiplegrantee organizations can communicate with each other.

The grant administration system includes a database that allows forreuse of previously-entered information. Grant administration primarilycenters on preparing proposals and reports about the grant as well astracking information about the grant. The reports are typicallysubmitted on a regular basis, such as quarterly. Generally the questionsand answers to these proposals and reports are repetitive. The grantadministration system allows grantee users to reuse a portion or of allof an answer to a previously answered question that is the same as orsimilar to the currently presented question. This preferably is done forany question having relatively complex information, such as a prosediscussion of goals or accomplishments in a reporting period or budgetinformation. Some simple fields may be pre-populated without beinglinked to similar questions, such as a date of a questionnaire or thename and address of a grantee. It therefore reduces the burden on thegrantee user of preparing these proposals and reports by being able toreuse responses to previously answered questions that are similar toquestions in the report they are preparing. The same or similarquestions stored in the database are identified by a database operatorusing tags. Alternately, grantees may be given access to add questions,search for and identify similar questions, and link similar questionssimilarly to the way a database operator would. The answers to thesequestions are linked respectively with the tagged questions and can beaccessed by a grantee for reuse in completing reports to grantors.Alternately, users may be given an interface to update the database withlinks among similar questions. The database preferably may be updated innear real time so that answers may be added to the database before agrantee actually completes and submits a questionnaire to a grantor.Answers and links may be stored in other manner than a centralizeddatabase, such as in storage capacity at the grantee or grantor locationor in an XML file.

The grant administration system includes a grantee module where granteeorganizations can view and manage grants made by grantor organizations.The grant administration system includes a grantor module where grantororganizations can view and manage grants made to grantee organizations.

The various techniques, methods, and systems described above can beimplemented in part or in whole using computer-based systems andmethods. Additionally, computer-based systems and methods can be used toaugment or enhance the functionality described above, increase the speedat which the functions can be performed, and provide additional featuresand aspects as a part of or in addition to those described elsewhere inthis document. Various computer-based systems, methods andimplementations in accordance with the above-described technology arepresented below.

In one implementation, a general-purpose computer may have an internalor external memory for storing data and programs such as an operatingsystem (e.g., DOS, Windows 2000™, Windows XP™, Windows NT™, OS/2, UNIXor Linux) and one or more application programs. Examples of applicationprograms include computer programs implementing the techniques describedherein, authoring applications (e.g., word processing programs, databaseprograms, spreadsheet programs, or graphics programs) capable ofgenerating documents or other electronic content; client applications(e.g., an Internet Service Provider (ISP) client, an e-mail client, oran instant messaging (IM) client) capable of communicating with othercomputer users, accessing various computer resources, and viewing,creating, or otherwise manipulating electronic content; and browserapplications (e.g., Microsoft's Internet Explorer) capable of renderingstandard Internet content and other content formatted according tostandard protocols such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

One or more of the application programs may be installed on the internalor external storage of the general-purpose computer. Alternatively, inanother implementation, application programs may be externally stored inand/or performed by one or more device(s) external to thegeneral-purpose computer.

The general-purpose computer includes a central processing unit (CPU)for executing instructions in response to commands, and a communicationdevice for sending and receiving data. One example of the communicationdevice is a modem. Other examples include a transceiver, a communicationcard, a satellite dish, an antenna, a network adapter, or some othermechanism capable of transmitting and receiving data over acommunications link through a wired or wireless data pathway.

The general-purpose computer may include an input/output interface thatenables wired or wireless connection to various peripheral devices.Examples of peripheral devices include, but are not limited to, a mouse,a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a keyboard, adisplay monitor with or without a touch screen input, and an audiovisualinput device. In another implementation, the peripheral devices maythemselves include the functionality of the general-purpose computer.For example, the mobile phone or the PDA may include computing andnetworking capabilities and function as a general purpose computer byaccessing the delivery network and communicating with other computersystems. Examples of a delivery network include the Internet, the WorldWide Web, WANs, LANs, analog or digital wired and wireless telephonenetworks (e.g., Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), IntegratedServices Digital Network (ISDN), and Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL)),radio, television, cable, or satellite systems, and other deliverymechanisms for carrying data. A communications link may includecommunication pathways that enable communications through one or moredelivery networks.

In one implementation, a processor-based system (e.g., a general-purposecomputer) can include a main memory, preferably random access memory(RAM), and can also include a secondary memory. The secondary memory caninclude, for example, a hard disk drive and/or a removable storagedrive, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, anoptical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive reads from and/orwrites to a removable storage medium. A removable storage medium caninclude a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which can beremoved from the storage drive used to perform read and writeoperations. As will be appreciated, the removable storage medium caninclude computer software and/or data.

In alternative embodiments, the secondary memory may include othersimilar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into a computer system. Such means can include, for example, aremovable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such can include aprogram cartridge and cartridge interface (such as the found in videogame devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM or PROM) andassociated socket, and other removable storage units and interfaces,which allow software and data to be transferred from the removablestorage unit to the computer system.

In one embodiment, the computer system can also include a communicationsinterface that allows software and data to be transferred betweencomputer system and external devices. Examples of communicationsinterfaces can include a modem, a network interface, (such as, forexample, an Ethernet card), a communications port, and a PCMCIA slot andcard. Software and data transferred via a communications interface arein the form of signals, which can be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by a communicationsinterface. These signals are provided to communications interface via achannel capable of carrying signals and can be implemented using awireless medium, wire or cable, fiber optics or other communicationsmedium. Some examples of a channel can include a phone line, a cellularphone link, an RF link, a network interface, and other suitablecommunications channels.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computerusable medium” are generally used to refer to media such as a removablestorage device, a disk capable of installation in a disk drive, andsignals on a channel. These computer program products provide softwareor program instructions to a computer system.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored in themain memory and/or secondary memory. Computer programs can also bereceived via a communications interface. Such computer programs, whenexecuted, enable the computer system to perform the features asdiscussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed,enable the processor to perform the described techniques. Accordingly,such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system.

In an embodiment where the elements are implemented using software, thesoftware may be stored in, or transmitted via, a computer programproduct and loaded into a computer system using, for example, aremovable storage drive, hard drive or communications interface. Thecontrol logic (software), when executed by the processor, causes theprocessor to perform the functions of the techniques described herein.

In another embodiment, the elements are implemented primarily inhardware using, for example, hardware components such as PAL(Programmable Array Logic) devices, application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), or other suitable hardware components. Implementationof a hardware state machine so as to perform the functions describedherein will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s). Inyet another embodiment, elements are implanted using a combination ofboth hardware and software.

In another embodiment, the computer-based methods can be accessed orimplemented over the World Wide Web by providing access via a Web pageto the methods described herein. Accordingly, the Web page is identifiedby a Universal Resource Locator (URL). The URL denotes both the serverand the particular file or page on the server. In this embodiment, it isenvisioned that a client computer system interacts with a browser toselect a particular URL, which in turn causes the browser to send arequest for that URL or page to the server identified in the URL.Typically the server responds to the request by retrieving the requestedpage and transmitting the data for that page back to the requestingclient computer system (the client/server interaction is typicallyperformed in accordance with the hypertext transport protocol (HTTP)).The selected page is then displayed to the user on the client's displayscreen. The client may then cause the server containing a computerprogram to launch an application to, for example, perform an analysisaccording to the described techniques. In another implementation, theserver may download an application to be run on the client to perform ananalysis according to the described techniques.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, FIG. 1 illustratesa block diagram of a system 10 for information transfer betweenorganizations. System 10 is a computer system configured to supportsoftware for communication through computer network 12. System 10 is incommunication through a computer network 12 with a plurality of granteeorganizations 14 and grantor organizations 16. Grantee organizations 14are non-profit organizations that are seeking funding from grantororganizations 16. Grantor organizations 16 are foundations that areseeking to fund grantee organizations 14. System 10 facilitates thecommunication of information between grantee organizations 14 andgrantor organizations 16 to reduce the time, cost, and burden ofadministering grants made by one or more grantor organizations 16 to oneor more grantee organizations 16. System 10 is an internet based systemaccessible through interactive web pages. For example, system 10 mayinclude a server though some of the functions may be imbedded in otherdevices or applications, such as an XML parser or JAVA application.System 10 is configured to enable multiple grantor organizations 16 tocommunicate with multiple grantee organizations 14.

System 10 includes a Graphical User Interface (GUI) (not shown) allowingthe grantor or grantee users to access a login software module 18 thatdirects them respectively to a grantor software module 22 or a granteesoftware module 20 illustrated in FIG. 2. Login module 18 is a softwareroutine that provides secure access to the grantor and grantee users.Login module 18 also distinguishes between grantor and grantee users anddirects them to the appropriate grantee or grantor module 20 or 22.Grantee module 20 is a software module that supports the use andpreparation of grant administration proposals and reports by a granteeorganization 14. Grantor module 22 is a software module that supportsthe use and preparation of grant administration proposals and reports bya grantor organization. System 10 also includes a database 310,illustrated in FIG. 42, operatively connected to login module 18,grantor module 20, grantee module 22 and GUI 11. Grantee module 20 andgrantor module 22 support the preparation and usage of computerizedquestionnaires by grantee and grantor users that grantee and grantororganizations 14 and 16 use for grant administration proposals andreports.

FIG. 2 illustrates an organizational diagram of software on system 10for information transfer between organizations. System 10 supportsinternet Web page based software for facilitating communications andinformation transfer between grantor organizations 16 and granteeorganizations 14. The software for system 10 includes a login module 18where a user from either a grantor organization 16 or a granteeorganization 14 would login through internet 12. Login module 18 wouldrecognize whether the user attempting to login is user from a granteeorganization 14 or a grantor organization 16. Based upon this userrecognition, login module 18 would direct the user to a grantee module20 for grantee organization 14 users, or a grantor module 22 for grantororganization 16 users.

Grantee Module 20 includes a home screen 24, a funder screen 26, agrants screen 28, a proposals screen 30, a reports screen 32, atemplates screen 34, and a document library 36. Home screen 24 providesa grantee user an overview of grant information. Funder screen 26 allowsthe grantee user to view and manage grantor organizations 16, which arealso referred to as “Funders.” Grants screen 28 allows the grantee userto view and manage grant information. Proposals screen 30 allows agrantee user to generate a grant proposal to submit to a grantororganization 16. Reports screen 32 allows the grantee user to view andmanage reports that are completed and sent to grantor organizations 16.Templates screen 34 allows the grantee user to create various documents,such as grant reports or grant proposals, from pre-made templates.Document library 36 stores documents created by the grantee user as wellas documents sent to the grantee user by grantor organization 16.Grantee module 20 and the software that supports screens 24, 26, 28, 30,32, 34 and 36 enable the grantee user to prepare and use computerizedquestionnaires that are the proposals and reports for the granteeorganizations' 14 grant administration requirements.

Grantor module 22 includes a home screen 38, an organizations screen 40,a proposals screen 42, a grant-reports screen 44, an internal reportsscreen 46, an analyze screen 48, and a templates screen 50. Home screen38 provides a grantor user with an overview of the grants and granteeorganizations 14 that the grantor user is funding and consideringfunding. Organizations screen 40 provides the grantor user with anoverview and the ability to manage grantee organizations 14 that it isfunding. Proposals screen 42 provides the grantor user the ability toview and manage proposals it has received from grantee and prospectivegrantee 14. Grant reports screen 44 provides the grantor user with theability to view and manage grants that grantor organization 16 has made.Internal reports screen 46 provides the grantor user with the ability togenerate and view internal reports regarding grants and granteeorganizations 14 that it funds. Analyze screen 48 provides an analysistool for the grantor user to financially analyze its grants portfolio.Templates screen 50, illustrated in FIG. 36, provides the grantor userwith the ability to create various documents, such as grant reports,from pre-made templates. Grantor module 22 and the software thatsupports screens 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48 and 50 enable the grantor userto prepare and use computerized questionnaires that are the proposalsand reports for the grantor organizations' 16 grant administrationrequirements.

FIG. 3 illustrates a screen shot of a login screen 52 supported by loginmodule 18. Login screen 52 is viewed through a conventional internetbrowser 54 that includes a box 56 for entering a URL, a series of menus58 for managing the internet browser 54, and a plurality of graphicalicons 60 for controlling internet browser 54. Users enter their loginname and password in login box 62. Once the user enters thisinformation, the user clicks on the login button at the base of loginbox 62. Login module 18 distinguishes between grantee/non-profit usersand grantor/foundation users according to login name or otherauthentication method and directs the user to the appropriate home page24 or 38. Grantees are directed to grantee screen 24, illustrated inFIG. 4. Grantors are directed to grantor screen 38, illustrated in FIG.29.

FIGS. 4-28 illustrate screen shots of software screens for a granteeorganization 14 accessible through grantee module 20 to grantee users.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen shot of a grantee-home screen 24.Grantee-home screen 24 includes graphical tabs enabling the grantee userto access funder screen 26, grants screen 28, proposals screen 30,reports screen 32, templates screen 34, and document library 36. Granteehome screen 24 allows a grantee user to view and manage grants receivedby grantor organizations 16. The grantee user may select questionnairetypes to view with menu 64. The grantee user may select ranges of datesto filter the number of grants viewed with menu 66. Table 68 provides alisting of existing grants and grant information. The table of grantinformation 68 includes the name of the grantor organization 16, theamount of the grant, the name of the grant program, a listing of duedates and the type of due dates, such a grant reporting dates. Table 68also includes links to proposals and reports to edit in compliance withthe pending due dates. Grantee-home screen 24 also includes a calendar70 having graphical icons showing pending due dates listed in table 68.Alert section 72 provides a listing of important due dates for thegrantee user. Section 74 provides a user-editable ‘to do’ list for thegrantee user.

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen shot of a calendar tool 70 on a granteescreen 24. Calendar tool 70 lists due dates from table 68 with graphicalicons. Moving a screen pointing tool, such as a mouse icon, over thegraphical icons in the calendar produces a message 76 that identifieswhat is due on that particular date.

FIG. 5a illustrates a screen shot of a view all reports screen, where agrantee can view a list of reports that are due to funders with the nameof the funder, the program area in which the grant is made, the type ofreport, the date due, the status of the report—submitted, past due, inprogress—and actions that can be taken on the report—view, edit, create.The list of reports displayed on the screen can be narrowed with thestart date and end date calendars.

FIG. 6 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report tool 78 on a reportscreen 32. The edit-report tool 78 provides the grantee user with theability to complete a report for submission to the grantor organization16. The report is an example of a computerized questionnaire, butquestionnaires may take on other forms, such as unsolicited proposals,etc. The report includes a series of questions that the grantee user mayanswer by either typing in information in a text box, selecting ananswer from a drop down menu, adding a document externally as anattachment, or another form of response. The report that the granteeuser is editing could have been created in one of several ways. Thegrantor organization 16 may have created the report using templatesscreen 50. Alternatively, if the grantor organization 16 did not createa computer template for reporting on the grant, the grantee user couldcreate a report template using templates screen 34. Edit-report tool 78includes a button 80 for saving and previewing the report. The reportincludes a plurality of questions 82. Grantee organizations 14 thatreceive grants typically have to periodically report to the grantororganizations 16 on the status of the grant. These reports are typicallyrepetitive and include the same or similar questions. Further, grantsissued by different grantor organizations typically include reportingrequirements that include the same or similar questions. To reduce thetime spent on preparing these reports in compliance with the grant,system 10 includes a find-similar-questions button 84. By pressingfind-similar-questions button 84, the grantee user accesses a databasethat stores all of the grantee user responses to reports. The databaseincludes a listing of all questions answered by the grantee user. Thesequestions are tagged such that similar questions are linked together. Bypressing the find-similar-questions button 84, the user accesses thedatabase and acquires a listing of all other similar questions answeredby virtue of the tags. The answers to questions in each report are alsolinked in the database, typically to their associated question. Thegrantee user may therefore find the answers they previously used toanswer similar questions by use of the find-similar-questions button 84.This option preferably is available for questions having relativelycomplex information, such as a prose discussion of goals oraccomplishments in a reporting period or budget information. Some simplefields may be pre-populated without being linked to similar questions,such as a date of a questionnaire or the name and address of a grantee.Thus, grantee users can reduce the amount of time spent completingrepetitive reports by using the find-similar-questions button 84 toreuse the answers to similar questions made in other reports. Button 86allows the grantee user to save the response to the question 82. Textboxes 88 provide a space for the grantee user to answer question 82. Thedatabase preferably may be updated in near-real time so that answers maybe added to the database before a grantee actually completes and submitsa questionnaire to a grantor. Answers and links may be stored in othermanner than a centralized database, such as in storage capacity at thegrantee or grantor location or an XML file.

FIG. 7 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report screen 32.Edit-report screen 32 includes a second question 90 having a text box 92where the grantee user can type a response. By pressing thefind-similar-questions button 84, the grantee user accesses thefind-similar-questions screen 94 shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 8 illustrates ascreen shot of a find-similar-questions screen 94.Find-similar-questions screen 94 lists the original question 96 andidentifies an organization 98, which asked the question. Screen 94 alsolists similar questions 100, identified as questions 102, 104 and 106.Screen 94 also lists the organizations 98 that asked these similarquestions. Screen 94 then provides a link 108 to an answer to thesimilar question. By clicking this link 108, the grantee user may viewthe answer. Identifiers 110 inform the user when similar questions 104and 106 remain unanswered.

FIG. 9 illustrates a screen shot of a find-similar-questions screen 94displaying a previous response acquired through link 108. By accessinglink 108, the grantee user acquires answer 112 that the grantee userused to answer the previous similar question 100. The grantee user maythen select the use-this-answer button 114 to use this previous answeras an answer to the original question 90 posed in the report.

FIG. 10 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report screen 32 populatedwith a previous response 112 selected from the find-similar-questionsscreen 94. By pressing the use-this-answer button 114, the grantee userpopulates text box 92 with previous answer 112. FIGS. 7 and 8 illustratea find-similar-questions software routine for finding similar questionsthrough the use of button 84 and screen 94. FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate ause-this-answer software routine for using answers from previouslyanswered similar questions.

FIG. 11 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report screen 32 havingboxes 116 where external documents 118 may be attached to the report.These documents, by means of a non-limiting example, may include MS WORDdocuments, PDF files, and the like.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report screen 32 wherebudgetary information 120 is provided. The report to the grantororganization 16 may include budgetary information 120 that is enteredinto text boxes by the grantee user. The grantee user may selectadditional text boxes to add to the budgetary information 120 from dropdown menu 122. Button 124 allows the grantee user to add the itemselected from menu 122 to the budgetary information 120.

FIG. 13 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report screen 32 where agrantee user may preview an edited report. The grantee user may view theedited report as a PDF or word processing file with button 126. Thegrantee user may submit the report through system 10 to the grantororganization 16 with button 128.

FIG. 14 illustrates a screen shot of an edited report 130 in a PDF orword processing format. A menu of options 132 is provided for thegrantee user to manage the edited report 130 in PDF or word processingformat.

FIG. 15 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-report screen 34 where areport may be submitted by selecting “OK” from the confirmation screen134. The grantee user may decline to send the report by pressing“CANCEL.”

FIG. 16 illustrates a screen shot of a grantee screen 24 showing aconfirmation message 136 confirming the submission of the submittedreport.

FIG. 17 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen 26 where a granteeuser can add a funder to a list that tracks proposals and reports madeto funders. Funders are grantor organizations 16, such as, by means of anon-limiting example, a foundation that supports non-profitorganizations through grants. A grantee user may add a fundingorganization to their list of funding organizations using the add funderfeature 138 on screen 26. The grantee user may search for a grantororganization's 16 Federal IRS assigned Employer Identification Number(EIN) number using tool 140. Entering either the EIN or thename/city/state searches the IRS list of exempt organizations. An EINdatabase in system 10 takes text files posted by the IRS for alltax-exempt organizations in the United States, and parses the text filesinto a database of organizations, their EINs, and contact informationfor tool 140.

FIG. 18 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen 26 where a granteeuser can add a funder from a table 142 to track reports made to selectedfunders. Table 142 provides a listing of all of the grantororganizations 16 that were identified by tool 140 in response to theinformation provided by the grantee user. Table 142 includes the name ofthe grantor organization 16, its address, EIN, organization information,and a list of actions. The list of actions provides links for thegrantee user to add the identified grantor organization to its list ofgrantor organizations.

FIG. 19 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen 26 where a granteeuser may add information about a funder, such as the funder/grantororganization's 16 website in text box 144, executive directorinformation in text boxes 146, and contact information for thefunder/grantor organization 16 in text boxes 148. FIG. 20 illustrates anadditional view of the screen shot of a funder screen 26 shown in FIG.19 where a grantee user may add information about a funder. The granteeuser may enter in the grantor organization's 16 address in text boxes150. The grantee user may also enter other information about the grantororganization 16 in text boxes 152. The grantee user may then save thisinformation with button 154, or cancel saving the information usingbutton 156. FIG. 21 illustrates a screen shot of a funder screen 26where information about a funder is viewed. Menu 157 allows the granteeuser to select a grantor organization 16 to view. Menu 158 allows thegrantee user to specify what information the grantee user wishes to viewabout the grantor organization 16. In the present example, contactinformation 148 and executive director information 146 are shown.

FIG. 22 illustrates a screen shot of an add grant screen 28. Add grantscreen 28 allows the grantee user to add information about a particulargrant. This information can include the program area from menu 160,funder name from menu 162, grant title 164, grant type from menu 166,grant number 168, grant amount 170, date of the grant 172, the startdate of the grant 174, and the purpose of the grant 176. The granteeuser may then save this information with button 178, or cancel the entryof data with cancel button 180.

FIG. 23 illustrates a screen shot of an edit-grant screen 32 where grantreports are defined for inclusion with table 68. The grantee userdefines the type of report with menu 182. The grantee user selects thedue date with menu 184. The grantee user may select a template for thereport with menu 186. The grantee user may add additional reports, eachwith a type from menu 182, due date from menu 184, and template frommenu 186 with add report button 192. The grantee user may save thereports and add them to FIG. 25 199 with button 188 or cancel the entryof data with cancel button 190.

FIGS. 24 and 25 illustrate a screen shot of an edit-grant screen 32where grant information is viewed. Using menus 194 that identify grantsby program area, organization, and grant name, the grantee user canselect a specific grant whose specifics 196 are shown below. Table 198lists and allows editing of contact information for a grant. Table 199illustrates activity with respect to the selected grant. Activityincludes an identification of grant reports and proposals, due dates,and status of the report as to whether or not it has been submitted.

FIG. 26 illustrates a screen shot of a view all templates screen 34,where a grantee user can view all templates including name, type,funding area, number of questions, date last modified, and actions to betaken. The list of templates displayed can be narrowed by program area.Some grantor organizations provide proposal and reporting forms insystem 10 for use by grantee users. However, some do not. Thus, templatescreen 34 enables grantee users to prepare forms for use in preparingproposals and reports using system 10 for grantor organizations 16 whodo not prepare proposal or reporting forms for use by the grantee user.

FIG. 27 illustrates a screen shot of an edit template screen 34. Usingmenu 202, the grantee user may select a report template to edit. Thereport template includes a plurality of buttons 204 that allow thegrantee user to move questions 206 within the report template. Buttons208 allow the grantee user to remove questions 206 from the reporttemplate.

FIG. 27a illustrates a screen shot of a build-template tool on atemplate screen. The build template tool provides the grantee user withthe ability to search for and select questions from the PhilanTrackdatabase for inclusion into the template. The grantee user can then adda question from a list of search results to the template for a grantreport or a grant proposal.

FIG. 27b illustrates a screen shot of an add-document tool on a documentlibrary screen. Grantee users can add documents to the document libraryby searching for the document on their computer or network, and typingin a description of the document. Grantee users can then save thatdocument to the document library for use in grant reports or grantproposals.

FIG. 27c illustrates an add-program tool on a settings screen, where agrantee user can add a program area by adding the name of the program.The grantee user can then save the program information using the savebutton or cancel using the cancel button.

FIG. 28 illustrates a screen shot of a logout screen 210. The granteeuser, once completed with using system 10 may logout. The grantee useris then shown logout screen 210, where the grantee user may log back inwith login feature 62.

FIGS. 29-41 illustrate screen shots of software screens for a grantororganization 16 in grantor module 22.

FIG. 29 illustrates a screen shot of a grantor user home page screen 38.The grantor user reaches screen 38 by logging into system 10 throughlogin feature 62 on page 52. Login module 18 recognizes that the grantoruser is associated with a grantor organization and directs the grantoruser to screen 38. Grantor user home screen 38 provides a listing of allgrantee organizations 14 and grants that are funded by the grantororganization 16. The grantor user may select which organizations hewishes to view with menu 212 along with a date range selected from menu214. Table 216 provides a listing of the organizations, grant status,and recent activity for grantee organizations 14 and associated grantsbased on the selections made with menus 212 and 214. The grantor homescreen 38 also includes a calendar 218 having graphical icons indicatingdue dates from table 216. Section 220 provides alerts on due dates fromtable 216 for the grantor user. Section 222 provides a to do list forthe grantor user. The grantor home screen 38 also includes links to theorganizations screen 40, grants screen 40A, proposals screen 42, grantreports screen 44, internal reports screen 46, analyze screen 48, andtemplates screen 50.

FIG. 30 illustrates a screen shot of a grant-report screen 44 forviewing grants made by the grantor organization 16. With button 224, thegrantor user may view a particular grant report in PDF format. Grantinformation a selected grant is shown on screen 44 in region 226.Information on the report concerning the grant is shown in region 228.

FIG. 31 illustrates a screen shot of a view/edit organizations screen40. The grantor user may select a particular grantee organization 14 toview with menu 230. The grantor user may then select what informationthat they wish to view about the grantee organization with menu 232. Inthis example, the grantor user selected a summary, which is thendisplayed in region 234. A table 236 lists the grants made to theorganization selected in menu 230. Table 236 lists the grant title,grant amount, grant number, grant start date, funding area, and type ofgrant.

FIG. 32 illustrates a screen shot of a view/edit organizations screen 40showing information for a particular grantee organization. In thisexample screen display, the grantor user selected a particular granteeorganization 14 from menu 230 and selected to view detailed on thatorganization with menu 232. The detailed information is then shown inregion 234.

FIG. 33 illustrates a screen shot of an internal-report screen 46. Thegrantor user may select a report type to view from menu 238. The grantoruser may select a funding area to view using menu 240. The grantor usermay select a particular grantee to view using menu 242. The grantor usermay then view the selected report with button 244 onscreen.Alternatively, the user may select button 246 to view the reportonscreen or in PDF or word processing format.

FIG. 34 illustrates a screen shot of a view-report-in-PDF-format screen.Using button 244, the grantor user may view the report selected withmenus 238, 240 and 242 to view a report 248 in PDF format. Menu 250allows the grantor user to manage the PDF document.

FIG. 35 illustrates a screen shot of a view-analysis screen 48. Thegrantor user can use menu 252 to select grants based on category foranalysis. The grantor user can then use menu 254 to select a typefinancial analysis to perform on the selected category of grants. Theuser can then perform the analysis using button 256. The resultinganalysis is shown in FIGS. 40 and 41.

FIG. 36 illustrates a screen shot of a view/edit-template screen 50. Aswith the grantee user, the grantor user is provided with templates togenerate proposals or reports for the grantee user to respond to forrequests for proposals and the reporting requirements associated withthe grant. The grantor user may select a template from menu 258. Theuser may then edit the template by using move buttons 260 to movequestions 262 around, or by using buttons 264 to remove the particularquestion 262.

FIG. 36a illustrates a screen shot of a view all templates screen, wherea grantor user can view all templates including name, type, fundingarea, number of questions, date last modified, and actions to be taken.The list of templates displayed can be narrowed by funding area.

FIG. 36b illustrates a screen shot of an add template screen, where agrantor user can add a template by selecting template type, whether tostart from scratch or from an existing template, and specifying a namefor the template. The grantor user can begin to create the template byclicking the create template button.

FIG. 36c illustrates a screen shot of a build template tool on atemplate screen. The build template tool provides the grantor user withthe ability to search for and select questions from the PhilanTrackdatabase. The grantor user can then add a question from a list of searchresults to the template for a grant report or a grant proposal. Thegrantor user can add questions, view the template, or edit the template.

FIG. 37 illustrates a screen shot of an add-grant screen 44. In thisscreen, the grantor user may add a grant for display in table 236 byentering in the following information: funding area with menu 266,organization name with menu 268, grant title with text box 270, granttype with menu 272, grant number with text box 274, grant amount withtext box 276, grant date with calendar 278, grant start and end dateswith calendars 280 and 282, grant purpose with text box 284, and grantcontact information 286.

FIG. 38 illustrates a screen shot of a define-grant reports screen 44.In this screen, the grantor user may select a report type using menu288, may select the date of the report using text box 290, and select atemplate for the report using menu 292. The grantor user may then savethe report using button 294 or cancel the report using button 296.

FIG. 39 illustrates a screen shot of a view/edit-grants-report screen40. The grantor user can use menus 296 to select specific grants to viewbased upon funding area, organization, and grant number. The specificsof the grant are then shown in region 298. The contact information forthe grant is shown in region 300.

FIGS. 40 and 41 illustrate a screen shot of a view analysis screen 48.Using menus 252 and 254 and button 256, the grantor user can perform ananalysis on the selected organizations and grants that is then shown incharts 302, 303 and 306 and tables 304, 305 and 308.

FIG. 42 illustrates a schematic of an interactive database that containsquestion and answer information for use with the find-similar-questionsbutton 84 and use this answer button 114. System 10 includes a database310 maintained by a database operator 312. Database 310 containsquestion and answer information from proposals and reports generated bythe grantee user and the grantor user while using system 10. Databaseoperator 312 reviews the questions in reports and tags similar questionstogether using one or more tags 314, 328, or 338. Tags 314, 328, and 338are graphically shown in database 310 as Venn diagrams respectivelygrouping questions 316, 318, 320, 330, 332, and 340. By grouping similarquestions together with tags 314, 328, and 338, database operator 312enables grantee users to use the find-similar-questions button 84 tolocate similar questions that they have already answered. Each question316, 318, 320, 330, 332, and 340 is associated with a single answer 322,324, 326, 334, 336, and 342 respectively. The link between questions316, 318, 320, 330, 332, and 340 and answers 322, 324, 326, 334, 336,and 342 allows the grantee user to view the answer with button 108 for aselected question and use that answer to populate a form 92 using theuse this answer button 114. The use of this database greatly reduces thetime required by grantee users to answer repetitive proposals andreports. Alternately, grantees may be given access to add questions,search for and identify similar questions, and link similar questionssimilarly to the way a database operator would. The database preferablymay be updated in near-real time so that answers may be added to thedatabase before a grantee actually completes and submits a questionnaireto a grantor. Answers and links may be stored in other manner than acentralized database, such as in storage capacity at the grantee orgrantor location or an XML file.

Detailed Description of a Preferred Database

FIGS. 43-45 illustrate tables of an interactive database 1000 thatcontains question and answer information for use with afind-similar-questions button and a use-this-answer button. The database1000 includes a series of tables, each consisting of individual fields.In most cases each table is related to at least one other table in thedatabase 1000 via at least one field, though in some cases therelationship may be handled by the application and is not explicit inthe database schema. The database may be built on Microsoft Access orother database platform. It should be understood that these tables areby way of example only and the database may be organized in other wayswith different tables, fields, and relations.

Table users 1002 stores information about individuals that are users ofthe system. It connects users to organizations and to the functions theycan perform within the application. Table users 1002 may, for example,include the following fields:

userid—a unique identifier for an individual user.

orgid—the identifier within the system for the organization with which auser is affiliated.

username—the username selected by the user which serves, with thepassword, as part of the login function.

password—the password associated with an individual username.

password_question—the question that the user sets up for a reminder incase the password is forgotten. This serves a security and privacyfunction.

password_answer—the answer to the question that the user sets up for areminder in case the password is forgotten.

create_timestamp—the date and time the user record is created.

mod_timestamp—the date and time the user record is modified.

status—the status of a user. A user can be, for example, active,inactive, deleted, or replaced. The status field references the statustable.

reminders—stores an individual user's “to-do list” items.

contactid—the identifier for contact information for a specific user. Itrelates to the table contacts which stores the specific contactinformation for a given user.

role—determines a user's role within the organization—different userroles entitle users to access and interact with different parts of theapplication (e.g., some users cannot access some sections or performsome functions).

calendar_private_url—the URL for a users calendar information.PhilanTrack uses iCal to export calendar-related information (e.g., duedates). Each user can access a user-specific calendar through theirprivate URL to be able to integrate calendar information with theircalendaring software (e.g., Microsoft Outlook).

Table organizations 1004 stores information about organizations that areusing the database. Individuals in the users table 1002 are associatedwith organizations 1004. Table organizations 1004 may, for example,include the following fields:

orgid—a unique identifier within the database for an organization. Itrelates to orgid in the following tables: users, program areas, fundingareas, qrset-templates.

org_ein—EIN stands for Employer Identification Number. It is anine-digit number assigned by the IRS for businesses, estates, andtrusts. The database may contain all tax exempt organizations. Theorg_ein field contains that organization's EIN.

org_name—the name of the organization.

org_long_name—the full name of the organization.

is_asker—this field and is-respondent identify whether the organizationis an asker organization or a respondent organization. An asker requestsreports and proposals; e.g., the asker asks questions of the respondent.A respondent answers questions asked by askers, and submits reports andproposals in response to asker requests.

is_respondent—this field and is_asker identify whether the organizationis an asker organization or a respondent organization. An asker requestsreports and proposals; e.g., the asker asks questions of the respondent.A respondent answers questions asked by askers, and submits reports andproposals in response to asker requests.

create_timestamp—the date and time the organization record is created.

mod_timestamp—the date and time the organization record is modified.

website—the organization's website.

mission—a text field for the organization's mission statement.

directorid—an identifier for the executive director of an organizationto relate to contact information for the director of that organization.It references the contactid field in the table contacts. Whether theuser is a director or not is identified in the contact_is_director fieldin the table asker_respondents or respondent_askers.

addressid—an identifier for the address of the organization. Itreferences the addressid field the table addresses.

status—the status of a user. A user can be, for example, active,inactive, deleted, or replaced. The status field references the statustable.

is_philantrack_user—identifies whether an organization is in thedatabase (i.e., a user) for two purposes: in order to easily associatemultiple users within the same organization and to generate differentnotifications and set different editing permissions depending on whetheror not an organization already has a record in the system. For example,when a new user registers with the system and looks up the user'sorganization, the system will be able to identify whether the new usershould be associated with an existing organization, or whether a neworganization record should be created. In another case, an asker canedit respondent contact information if the respondent is not a user.Once a respondent becomes a user, that respondent can edit therespondent's contact information, not the asker.

accounting—identifies the respondent organization's accountingbasis—typically cash or accrual. This is set in the respondentorganization's profile information and is used in the financial analysistool.

cashflow—identifies the respondent organization's cash flow statementmethodology—typically direct or indirect. This is set in the respondentorganization's profile information and is used in the financial analysistool.

Table contacts 1006 stores contact information for individual userswithin an organization. It is related to table users 1002,asker_respondents 1010, respondent_askers 1012 and grants 1014. Tablecontacts 1006 may include the following fields:

contactid—an identifier of the contact.

name—the contact's name.

title—the contact's title.

phone—the contact's phone number.

fax—the contact's fax number.

email—the contact's email address.

The table addresses 1008 stores information about addresses fororganizations. It is related to table organizations 1004. The tableaddresses 1008 may include the following fields:

addressid—an identifier for the address information for a given record.

in_care_of_name—if correspondence is sent in care of an individual ororganization.

address1—first address line.

address2—second address line.

city—city.

state—state.

postal_code—postal or zip code.

country—country.

The table asker_respondents 1010 stores relationships between an askerand its respondents. When an asker adds a respondent to its list, anentry is created in the asker_respondent table. The tableasker_respondents 1010 is related to tables organizations 1004 andcontacts 1006. The table asker_respondents 1010 may include thefollowing fields:

asker_orgid—an identifier for an asker organization. It references theorgid field in the table organizations.

respondent_orgid—an identifier for a respondent organization. Itreferences the orgid field in the table organizations.

notes—notes that are specific to a respondent and an asker, but onlyvisible to the asker.

contact_is_director—identifies whether a given contact in anorganization is the director of that organization or a different type ofuser.

contact_contactid—identifier for a specific contact person (e.g.individual user within the asker organization).

The table respondent_askers 1012 stores relationships between arespondent and its askers. When a respondent adds an asker to its list,an entry is created in the respondent_asker table 1012. The tablerespondent_askers 1012 is related to tables organizations 1004 andcontacts 1006. The table respondent_askers 1012 may include thefollowing fields:

respondent_orgid—an identifier for a respondent organization.

asker_orgid—an identifier for an asker organization.

notes—notes that are specific to an asker and a respondent, but onlyvisible to the respondent.

contact_is_director—identifies whether a given contact in anorganization is the director of that organization or a different type ofuser.

contact_contactid—identifier for a specific contact person (e.g.individual user within the asker organization).

The table grants 1014 stores information about grants in the database.It connects grants to asker and respondent organizations as well asfunding and program areas (at the asker organization and respondentorganization, respectively) along with relevant contact information. Itis related to tables contacts 1006, grant_types 1016, proposal_status1018, organizations 1004, program_areas 1022, and funding_areas 1020.The table grants 1014 may include the following fields:

grantid—a unique identifier for an individual grant.

proposal_id—an identifier for a proposal associated with a given grant.It references orgid field in the table grants'.

asker_orgid—the identifier of the asker organization with which a grantis associated. It references orgid field in the table organizations.

fundingarea_id—the identifier of the asker funding area with which agrant is associated. It references funding_areaid in the tablefunding_areas.

program_areaid—the identifier of the respondent program area with whicha grant is associated. It references program_areaid field in the tableprogram_areas.

grant_identifier—a user-entered identifier for an individual grant (canbe a combination of letters and numbers that are meaningful to theorganization).

grant_name—the name of the grant entered by the asker or the respondent.

grant_date—the date the grant is made.

start_date—the date grant activities begin.

end_date—the date grant activities end.

description—a description of the grant.

amount—the amount of the grant.

grant_typeid—the type of grant. The grant_typeid field references thetable grant_type.

asker_alternate_contact—a Boolean field identifying whether there is analternate contact for the asker organization. Respondents and askers candesignate a primary point of contact for a given grant. That contact maybe different from the primary point of contact for the askerorganization.

asker_contactid—an identifier for the primary point of contact for theasker organization.

respondent_alternate_contact—a Boolean field identifying whether thereis an alternate contact for the respondent organization. Respondents andaskers can designate a primary point of contact for a given grant. Thatcontact may be different from the primary point of contact for therespondent organization.

respondent_contactid—an identifier for the primary point of contact forthe respondent organization. It references orgid field in the tableorganizations.

status—a grant can be active, inactive, deleted, or replaced. The statusfield references the status table.

asker_notes—notes entered by the asker about the grant.

is_proposal—identifies whether a grant is a proposal. Proposals in thesystem become grants when approved by the asker. Fields from theproposal become fields in the grant once a grant is approved.

proposal_status—a proposal can be, for example, undecided, accepted, ordeclined. The proposal_status field references the tableproposal_status.

The table grant_types 1016 stores information about the different typesof grants that can be tracked through the system. It is related to thetable grants 1014. The table grant_types 1016 may include the followingfields:

grant_typeid—identifies the grant type.

grant_type_name—the name of the grant type.

The table proposal_status 1018 stores information about the status of aproposal. It is related to the table grants 1014. The tableproposal_status 1018 may include the following fields:

status—identifies the status of the proposal. The proposal status canbe, for example, undecided, accepted or declined.

status_name—the name of the proposal status.

The table funding_areas 1020 stores information about an asker's fundingareas. It is related to the table grants 1014, organizations 1004, anddocuments 1024. The table funding_areas 1020 may include, for example,the following fields:

funding_areaid—identifies the funding area in an asker organization.

orgid—a unique identifier within the database for an organization. Itrelates to the orgid field in the table organizations.

funding_area_name—the name of the funding area.

status—the status of a funding area. A funding area can be, for example,active, inactive, deleted, or replaced. The status field references thestatus table.

The table program_areas 1022 stores information about a respondent'sprogram areas. It is related to the tables grants 1014 and organizations1004. The table program_areas 1022 may include the following fields:

program_areaid—identifies the program area in a respondent organization.

orgid—a unique identifier within the database for an organization. Itrelates to the orgid field in the table organizations.

program_area_name—the name of the program area.

status—the status of a program area. A program area can be, for example,active, inactive, deleted, or replaced. The status field references thestatus table.

The table documents 1024 stores information about documents. It isrelated to the table organizations 1004. The table documents 1024 mayinclude the following fields:

docid—an identifier for the document.

orgid—a unique identifier within the database for an organization. Itreferences the orgid field in the table organizations.

filename—the name of the file that has been uploaded.

systemname—the name generated by the system for the file that has beenuploaded.

summary—summary text about the document, entered by the user.

bytes—the size of the document.

added_datetime—a date and time stamp for when the document was uploadedto the system.

added_byid—the username of the user who uploaded the document to thesystem.

mime_type—file mime type of the uploaded file.

The table internal_report_type 1026 defines the type of internalreports. The combination of the irt_id and irt_name fields define forany given internal report the name and type of report (e.g., board book,grantee report). The table internal_report_type 1026 is related to thetable internal_report 1028. The table internal_report_type 1026 mayinclude the following fields:

irt_id—an identifier for the internal report type (e.g., 1=board book).

irt_name—the name of the internal report type (e.g., board book)

The table internal_report 1028 is an entity that stores informationabout internal reports. It is related to the tablesinternal_report_grantee 1030, organizations 1004, funding_areas 1020,users 1002, and internal_report_type 1026. The table internal_report1028 may include the following fields:

ir_id—an identifier for the internal report.

asker_orgid—an identifier for the asker organization generating theinternal report. It references the orgid field in the tableorganizations.

funding_areaid—an identifier for the funding area for which the internalreport has been generated. It references the funding_areaid field in thetable funding_areas.

irt_id—an identifier for the internal report type. It references theirt_id field in the table internal_report_type.

run_byid—an identifier for the user that has generated (run) the report.It references the userid field in the table users.

report_name—the name of the internal report, entered by the asker user.

date_created—date and time an internal report is created.

start_date—start date of the period covered by the internal report.

end_date—end date of the period covered by the internal report.

results—the text of the results of the internal report.

The table internal_report_grantee 1030 stores information about thegrantees included in a given internal report. It is related to thetables internal_report 1028 and organizations 1004. The tableinternal_report_grantee 1030 may include the following fields:

ir_id—an identifier for the internal report. It references the ir_idfield in the table internal_report.

grantee_id—an identifier for the grantee whose information is includedin an internal report. It references the orgid field in the tableorganizations.

The table states 1032 stores information about the names andabbreviations of states. The table states 1032 may include the followingfields:

state—the two-letter abbreviation for a state.

name—the name of a state.

The table geographic_type 1034 stores information about types ofgeographic areas on which reports can be run (e.g., state, city, zipcode, congressional district, etc.). The table geographic_type 1034 isrelated to the table geographic_regions 1036. The table geographic_type1034 may include the following fields:

gt_id—an identifier for the geographic type (e.g., 1 is “state”).

gt_name—the name of the geographic type (e.g., “state”).

The table geographic_regions 1036 stores information about geographicregions. With the table geographic_member, it is used to define whichstates are included in which geographic region (e.g., “Northeast”). Thetable geographic_regions 1036 is related to the table geographic_type1034. The table geographic_regions 1036 may include the followingfields:

gr_id—an identifier for the geographic region.

name—the name of the geographic region.

gt_id—an identifier for the geographic type. It references gt_id fieldin the table geographic_type.

description—a description of the geographic region.

The table geographic_member 1038 stores information about whichgeographic entities comprise a specific geographic region. The tablegeographic_member is related to the table geographic_regions 1036. Thetable geographic_member 1038 may include the following fields:

gm_id—an identifier for the geographic member.

gr_id—an identifier for the geographic region. References gr_id field inthe table geographic_regions.

name—the name of the geographic member (e.g., “Northeast”).

The table alerts 1040 stores information about alerts (notifications tousers). There are two preferred types of alerts—admin-generated (e.g.,system downtime) and system-generated (e.g., report due on a givendate). The table alerts 1040 may include the following fields:

alertid—an identifier for the alert.

description—a text description of the alert.

link—a link to the subject of the alert (e.g., a report that is due on agiven day).

alert_date—the date the alert is due.

The table qrsets 1042 stores information about questions and responsesin the database. A qrset is short for “question/response set.” A qrsetis composed preferably of a number of qrinstances (each of which mayconsist of an individual question and its associated response). A qrsetcan be thought of as a “request” from an asker organization of arespondent organization and the information that the respondentorganization completes and submits in response to the request. The tableqrsets 1042 is related to the tables organizations 1004, qrset_templates1044, qrset_types 1048, grants 1014, and states 1032. The table qrsets1042 may include the following fields:

qrsetid—an identifier for the qrset.

respondent_orgid—the identifier of the respondent organization withwhich a grant is associated. It references orgid field in the tableorganizations.

asker_ordid—the identifier of the asker organization with which a grantis associated. It references orgid field in the table organizations.

qrset_templateid—an identifier of the qrset_template with which theqrset is associated. A qrset template is the basis for creating a qrset.It determines the questions and responses (qrset instances) thatcomprise a given qrset. A qrset template can be thought of as a qrsetthat has not been associated with a specific asker/respondent pair. Inother words, a qrset template can be the basis for many qrsets. Itreferences qrset_templateid field in table qrset_templates.

qrset_typeid—an identifier of the type of qrset. Qrsets can be reportsor proposals, etc. It references qrset_templateid field in tableqrset_templates.

due_date—the date a given qrset is due.

grantid—an identifier for the grant with which the qrset is associated.It references grantid field in table grants.

submitted—date and time qrset is submitted.

create_timestamp—date and time qrset is created.

mod_timestamp—date and time qrset is modified.

status—the status of a qrset. A qrset can be active, inactive, deleted,or replaced. The status field references the status table.

original_qrsetid—the original id of the qrset. It references qrsetid inthe table qrsets. It is used in the situation in which an asker modifiesa QRSet that a respondent has started to answer but has not yet beensubmitted. In that situation, the modified QRSet becomes a new QRSet.This field links to the original QRSet so that responses already enteredin the original QRSet can be copied into the modified QRSet. In mostcases, this field will be empty.

comment—comments on the qrset that are visible only to the asker.

The table qrset_templates 1044 stores information about qrset templates.A qrset template is essentially a qrset that has not been associatedwith a specific asker/respondent pair. A qrset template can be the basisfor many qrsets. The table qrset_templates 1044 is related to the tablesorganizations 1004, funding_areas 1020, program_areas 1022,qrset_template_types 1046, qrset_template_question_types 1060, andqrsets 1042. The table qrset_templates 1044 may include the followingfields:

qrset_templateid—an identifier for the qrset template.

template_name—the name of the template.

qrset_template_typeid—an identifier of the type of template for a givenqrset. Qrset template types may include report, proposal, etc. Itreferences qrset_template_typeid in the table qrset_template_types.

orgid—a unique identifier within the database for an organization. Itreferences the orgid field in the table organizations.

fundingarea_id—the identifier of the asker funding area with which agrant is associated. It references funding_areaid in the tablefunding_areas, if the organization is an asker organization.

program_areaid—the identifier of the respondent program area with whicha grant is associated. It references program_areaid field in the tableprogram_areas, if the organization is a respondent organization.

create_timestamp—date and time a qrset template is created.

mod_timestamp—date and time a qrset template is modified.

status—the status of a qrset template. A qrset template can be, forexample, active, inactive, deleted, or replaced. The status fieldreferences the status table.

description—a description of the qrset template.

The table qrset_template_types 1046 stores information about thedifferent types of qrset templates in the datebase. It is related to thetables qrset_templates 1044 and qrset_types 1048. The tableqrset_template_types 1046 may include the following fields:

qrset_template_typeid—an identifier for the type of qrset template.

name—the name of the qrset template type.

label—the label associated with the qrset template type.

The table qrset_types 1048 stores information about the different typesof qrsets in the database. It is related to the tablesqrset_template_types 1046 and qrsets 1042. The table qrset_types 1048may include the following fields:

qrset_typeid—an identifier for the type of qrset.

qrset_template_typeid—an identifier for the type of qrset template. Itreferences qrset_template_typeid field in the tableqrset_template_types.

name—the name of the qrset type.

label—a label for the qrset type.

The table qrset_template_members 1050 organizes groups of questions intoqrsets. It is related to the tables qrset_templates 1044 and questions1052. The table qrset_template_members 1050 may include the followingfields:

qrset_templateid—an identifier for the qrset template. It referencesqrset_templateid field in the table qrset_templates.

qid—an identifier for an individual question. It references qid field inthe table questions.

sort_order—the order of the questions in a qrset template.

The table questions 1052 stores the questions in the database. It isrelated to the tables tags 1054, qrset_template_members 1050,question_xref 1062, and qrinstances 1064. The table questions 1052 mayinclude the following fields:

qid—an identifier for an individual question.

question—the text of a question.

question_type_tagid—an identifier of the question type as referenced inthe tag. It references tagid field in the table tags.

definition—the XML definition for the question.

The table tags 1054 stores information about tags. Tags are like anoption code selection or a lookup code value. They are used for lists ofitems (e.g., expense categories for a financial report). The table tags1054 are related to the tables questions 1052, tag_tree 1058,qrset_template_question_types 1060. The table tags 1054 may include thefollowing fields:

tagid—an identifier for a tag.

tag_name—the name of the tag.

status—the status of a tag. A tag can be active, inactive, deleted, orreplaced. The status field references the status table.

tag_label—the label for a given tag.

The table tag_financial_attrs 1056 stores information that helps definerows in financial statements. It provides context for when given tagsappear in financial statements (e.g., certain tags may only appear inrows of financial statements when the respondent organization is usingaccrual accounting). A record in the table tag_financial attrs 1056relates to a specific tag and defines the context in which a given tagshould appear. The table tag_financial_attrs 1056 is related to thetable tags 1054. The table tag_financial_attrs 1056 may include thefollowing fields:

tagid—an identifier for the tag. It references the tagid field in thetable tags.

cash_accounting—identifies whether the organization uses cashaccounting.

accrual_accounting—identifies whether the organization uses accrualaccounting.

direct_cashflow—identifies whether the organization uses direct cashflow statements.

indirect_cashflow—identifies whether the organization uses indirect cashflow statements.

The table tag_tree 1058 is an entity that is a way of organizing tags ina hierarchical manner, like a genus and a species. The tag tree canrepresent any number of levels of lists. The table tag_tree 1058 isrelated to the table tags 1054. The table tag_tree 1058 may include thefollowing fields:

parent_tagid—an identifier for a tab at the top of the hierarchy.References the tagid field in the table tags.

child_tagid—an identifier for a tab further down the hierarchy.References the tagid field in the table tags.

The table qrset_template_question_types 1060 keeps track of the order ofquestion categories used within a qrset_template. It is related to thetables qrset_templates 1044 and tags 1054. The tableqrset_template_question_types 1060 may include the following fields:

qrset_templateid—an identifier for the qrset_template. It references theqrset_templateid field in the table qrset_templates.

question_type_tagid—an identifier for the tag related to a specificquestion type. It references the tagid field in the table tags.

sort_order—Defines the sort order of the question with respect to otherquestions within the same question type category (e.g.,Goals/Objectives).

The table question_xref 1062 defines the relationships between similarquestions in the database. Questions that are identified as similar arenot necessarily identical. They are identified as similar in this table.The table question_xref 1062 is related to the table question 1052. Thetable question_xref 1062 may include the following fields:

qid1—an identifier for the first question that is similar to anotherquestion. It references the qid field in the questions table.

qid2—an identifier for the second question that is similar to anotherquestion. It references the qid field in the questions table.

The table qrinstances 1064 stores information about qrinstances. Itassociates a question with a response. The combination of responseid andresponse_typeid fields relate a given qrinstance to a single responsewithin one of the response tables (e.g., narrative_responses,if_then_responses, dict_list_responses, and financial_grids). It isrelated to the tables questions 1052, qrsets 1042, and response_types1066. The table qrinstances 1064 may include the following fields:

qrinstanceid—an identifier for an individual qrinstance.

qrsetid—an identifier for a qrset. Associates a qrinstance with a qrset.It references qrset field in the qrsets database.

qid—an identifier for a question. It references the qid field in thequestions table.

responseid—an identifier for an individual response. In this table, theresponse preferably is associated with a specific question.

response_typeid—an identifier for a type of response. It references theresponse_typeid field in the table response_types.

sort_order—defines the sort order of qrinstances within a qrset.

The table response_types 1066 is a registry of the responsetypes/classes which exist. Response types can include, for example,narrative responses, financial grids, if-then responses, dict-listresponses (see table dict_list_responses), etc. It is related to thetable qrinstances 1064. The table response_types 1066 may include thefollowing fields:

response_typeid—an identifier for an individual response types.

table_name—the name of the table in which responses of a specificresponse type are stored.

class_name—the name of the class of which the response type is a part.

The table responses 1068 stores responses. It is used to define thecommon fields (e.g., respondent_orgid, submitted, create_timestamp,mod_userid, and mod_timestamp) which exist in all of the tables whichinherit from it. The tables that inherit from the table responses arepreferably the tables narrative_responses 1070, if_then_responses 1072,dict_list_responses 1084, and financial_grids 1074. The table responses1068 may include the following fields:

respondent_orgid—the identifier of the respondent organization. Itreferences the orgid field in the table organizations.

submitted—Boolean; whether a qrset containing an individual response hasbeen submitted.

create_timestamp—date and time a response is created.

mod_userid—the user ID of the user to last modify the response.

mod_timestamp—date and time a response is modified.

The table narrative_responses 1070 stores information about narrativeresponses. Narrative responses are textual responses.Narrative_responses inherits respondent_orgid, submitted,create_timestamp, mod_userid and mod_timestamp from the table responses1068 and is related to the table organizations 1004. The tablenarrative_responses 1070 may include the following fields:

respondent_orgid—the identifier of the respondent organization. Itreferences the orgid field the in the table organizations.

submitted—Boolean; whether a qrset containing an individual response hasbeen submitted.

create_timestamp—date and time a response is created.

mod_userid—the user ID of the user to last modify the response.

mod_timestamp—date and time a response is modified.

narrative_responseid—an identifier of the narrative response.

response—the text of the response.

The table if_then_responses 1072 stores information about if-thenresponses. If-then responses are two part questions; the first partgenerally consists of a Boolean response. The second part, whenapplicable, generally consists of simple text. If_then_responsespreferably inherit respondent_orgid, submitted, create_timestamp,mod_userid and mod_timestamp from the table responses 1068 and isrelated to the table organizations 1004. The table if_then_responses1072 may include the following fields:

respondent_orgid—the identifier of the respondent organization. Itreferences the orgid field the in the table organizations.

submitted—Boolean; whether a qrset containing an individual response hasbeen submitted.

create_timestamp—date and time a response is created.

mod_userid—the user ID of the user to last modify the response.

mod_timestamp—date and time a response is modified.

if_then_responseid—an identifier of the if-then response.

boolean_response—the response to part one of the if-then question.

narrative_responseid—the response to part two of the if-then question.

The table financial_grids 1074 stores information about financialresponses. Financial responses are stored in grids of varying numbers ofcolumns and rows. Financial_grids inherits respondent_orgid, submitted,create_timestamp, mod_userid and mod_timestamp from the table responses1068 and is related to the table organizations 1004 and tags 1054. Thetable financial_grids 1074 may include the following fields:

respondent_orgid—the identifier of the respondent organization. Itreferences the orgid field the in the table organizations.

submitted—Boolean; whether a qrset containing an individual response hasbeen submitted.

create_timestamp—date and time a response is created.

mod_userid—the user ID of the user to last modify the response.

mod_timestamp—date and time a response is modified.

financial_gridid—an identifier for the financial grid response.

fiscal_year—an identifier for the fiscal year for which financialinformation is being submitted.

fiscal_quarter—an identifier for the fiscal quarter for which financialinformation is being submitted.

org_level—an identifier of the level to which the financial informationapplies. Financial information can apply to an organization, aprogram/project, or a grant.

accounting—an identifier of the accounting basis followed by therespondent organization. The accounting basis can be, for example, cashor accrual.

cashflow—an identifier of the cash flow method followed by therespondent organization. The cash flow method can be, for example,direct or indirect.

statement_tagid—an identifier of the tag associated with a givenfinancial statement. It references the tagid field in the table tags.

The table financial_columns 1076 stores information about the columns ina financial grid. It is related to the table financial_cells 1078. Thetable financial_columns 1076 may include the following fields:

financial_columnid—an identifier for a column within a financial grid.

financial_gridid—an identifier of a financial grid of which thefinancial column is part. It references the financial_gridid field inthe table financial_grids.

name—the name of the column in the financial grid.

label—the label visible to the user for the column in the financialgrid.

sort_order—the order in which financial column appears.

The table financial_cells 1078 stores information about cells within afinancial grid. It is related to the tables financial_columns 1076,financial_grids 1074 and financial_rows 1080. The table financial_cells1078 may include the following fields:

financial_cellid—an identifier for an individual cell within a financialgrid.

financial_gridid—an identifier for a financial grid. It references thefinancial_gridid field in the table financial_grids.

financial_columnid—an identifier for the column in the financial grid inwhich the financial cell resides. It references the financial_columnidfield in the table financial_cells.

financial_rowid—an identifier for the row in the financial grid in whichthe financial cell resides. It references the financial_rowid field inthe table financial_rows.

value—the value of the individual cell.

The table financial_rows 1080 stores information about the rows in afinancial grid. It is related to the tables financial_sections 1082 andfinancial_grids 1074. The table financial_rows 1080 may include thefollowing fields:

financial_rowid—an identifier for a row within a financial grid.

financial_gridid—an identifier for the financial grid of which thefinancial row is a part. It references the financial_gridid field in thetable financial_grids.

financial_sectionid—identifier for the section in the financial grid ofwhich the financial row is part (for example, whether it is an expenserow or an income row in an income statement or statement of activities,or an asset or liability on a balance sheet or statement of financialcondition). It references the financial_sectionid field in the tablefinancial_sections.

name—the name of the financial row.

label—the label visible to the user for the financial row.

sort_order—the order in which the financial row appears.

The table financial_sections 1082 stores information about the sectionswithin a financial grid. For example, a statement of activities mightinclude an income section and an expenses section, or a statement offinancial condition might include an assets section, a liabilitiessection, and a net assets section. The table financial_sections 1082 isrelated to the table financial_grids 1074. The table financial_sections1082 may include the following fields:

financial_sectionid—an identifier for a section within a financial grid.

financial_gridid—an identifier for a financial grid. It references thefinancial_gridid field in the table financial_grids.

name—the name of the financial section.

label—the label visible to the user for the financial section.

sort_order—the order in which the financial section appears.

The table dict_list_responses 1084 stores responses for a “dict list.” Adict list stores an ordered sequence of dicts. A dict is a set of tuplescontaining a name and a value. Each name is a text string. The types ofvalues in a dict may be non-homogeneous (can be any type from thevalues_type table). The table dict_list_responses 1084 is the top levelin managing dict list information. It is related to the tablesorganizations 1004, dict_list_entries 1090 and dict_list_types 1088.Dict_list_responses inherits respondent_orgid, submitted,create_timestamp, mod_userid and mod_timestamp from the table responses1068. The table dict_list_responses 1084 may include the followingfields:

respondent_orgid—the identifier of the respondent organization. Itreferences the orgid field in the table organizations.

submitted—Boolean; whether a qrset containing an individual response hasbeen submitted.

create_timestamp—date and time a response is created.

mod_userid—the user ID of the user to last modify the response.

mod_timestamp—date and time a response is modified.

dict_list_responseid—an identifier of the dict_list response. Itreferences dict_list_responseid field in the table dict_list_types.

The table value_types 1086 stores the different types of values thatdict list responses can contain. It is referenced in determining thevariant values of responses in a given dict list. It is related to thetable dict_list_types 1088 and the variant_values tables 1092. The valuetypes are intrinsic to the PostgreSQL database and may include: text,date, numeric, float, integer, Boolean, and tag. The table value_types1086 may include the following fields:

value_typeid—the identifier of the type of value (e.g., text is 1).

value_type—an internal name (i.e. ‘text’ or ‘date’) for the type.

The table dict_list_types 1088 defines each of the columns in tabularform for a dict list. For each column in a dict list, the tabledict_list_types 1088 defines what type of value will be in that column.Each column then has a consistent value type (e.g., numeric). Forexample, a dict list showing funding sources might have two columns:source and amount. The source column will contain text values while theamount column will contain numeric values. The table dict_list_types1088 is related to the tables dict_list_responses 1084, value_types 1086and dict_list_entries 1090. The table dict_list_types 1088 may includethe following fields:

dict_list_typeid—an identifier for the type of dict list.

dict_list_responseid—an identifier for the response to the dict list. Itreferences dict_list_responseid field in the dict_list_responses table.

name—the name of the dict list.

value_typeid—an identifier of the type of value (e.g., 1=text). Itreferences value_typeid field in the table value_types.

The table dict_list_entries 1090 stores specific entries into dictlists. It is related to the tables dict_list_responses 1084 anddict_list_types 1088. The table dict_list_entries 1090 may include thefollowing fields:

dict_list_entryid—an identifier of an individual dict list entry.

dict_list-responseid—an identifier of the dict list response. Itreferences dict_list_responseid field in the table dict_list_responses.This relates the individual response within a dict list to the overallresponse in a qrset.

dict_list-typeid—an identifier of the dict list type. It referencesdict_list_type field in the table dict_list_types.

sequence_index—specifies which dict in the list this entry is from.

variant_valueid—the identifier of the type of value for this particularentry. The variant_valueid is passed through the table variant_values1092 to the appropriate variant table (specific to the type of value,e.g., text).

The table variant_values 1092 is an entity that tells the applicationwhich type of value is stored in a given variant in a dict list. It maybe a table that passes information along to the appropriate table for agiven value type. The table variant_values 1092 may have a single fieldthat is inherited by the various variant_values_*tables. That field maybe:

variant_valueid—identifies which type of data is stored in a givendict_list in order to determine what kind of data is in a given field.The variant_valueid may be a number that is assigned in series to thefollowing types of fields as a non-limiting example: text, date,numeric, integer, float, Boolean, and tag.

The table variant_values_text 1094 stores information about text valuesstored in a given dict list. It inherits the variants_valueid field fromthe table variant_values 1092. The table variant_values_text 1094 mayinclude the following fields:

variant_valueid—identifies which type of data is stored in a givendict_list. It is inherited from variant_valueid field in the tablevariant_values 1092.

variant_value—the actual value of the given variant.

The table variant_values_tag 1096 stores information about tag valuesstored in a given dict list. It is related to the table tags 1054. Itinherits the variants_valueid field from the table variant_values 1092.The table variant_values_tag 1096 may include the following fields:

variant_valueid—identifies which type of data is stored in a givendict_list. It may be inherited from variant_valueid field in the tablevariant_values 1092.

variant_value—the actual value of the given variant.

The table variant_values_numeric 1098 stores information about numericvalues stored in a given dict list. Numeric values are used, forexample, for dollar/financial figures in the database. It inherits thevariants_valueid field from the table variant_values 1092. The tablevariant_values_numeric 1098 may include the following fields:

variant_valueid—identifies which type of data is stored in a givendict_list. It is inherited from variant_valueid field in the tablevariant_values 1092.

variant_value—the actual value of the given variant.

The table variant_values_integer 1100 stores information about integervalues stored in a given dict list. It inherits the variants_valueidfield from the table variant_values 1092. The tablevariant_values_integer 1100 may include the following fields:

variant_valueid—identifies which type of data is stored in a givendict_list. Inherited from variant_valueid field in the tablevariant_values 1092.

variant_value—the actual value of the given variant.

The table variant_values_float 1102 stores information about floatvalues stored in a given dict list. Floating point values are a type ofnumeric value. It inherits the variants_valueid field from the tablevariant_values 1092. The table variant_values_float 1102 may include thefollowing fields:

variant_valueid—identifies which type of data is stored in a givendict_list. It is inherited from variant_valueid field in the tablevariant_values.

variant_value—the actual value of the given variant.

The table variant_values_date 1104 stores information about date valuesstored in a given dict list. It inherits the variants_valueid field fromthe table variant_values 1092. The table variant_values_date 1104 mayinclude the following fields:

variant_valueid—identifies which type of data is stored in a givendict_list. It is inherited from variant_valueid field in the tablevariant_values 1092.

variant_value—the actual value of the given variant.

The table variant_values_boolean 1106 stores information about Booleanvalues stored in a given dict list. It inherits the variants_valueidfield from the table variant_values 1092. The tablevariant_values_boolean 1106 may include the following fields:

variant_valueid—identifies which type of data is stored in a givendict_list. It is inherited from variant_valueid field in the tablevariant_values 1092.

variant_value—the actual value of the given variant.

Table: status 1108: The table status 1108 stores the status of entity inthe database (e.g., a user, grant, organization, proposal, template,report, etc.). An entity can be, for example, active, inactive, deleted,or replaced. The status field references the status table. The tablestatus 1108 may include the following field:

status—the status of an entity in the database (e.g., a user, grant,organization, proposal, template, report, etc.). An entity can be, forexample, active, inactive, deleted, or replaced.

It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided merely forthe purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limitingof the present invention. While the present invention has been describedwith reference to certain embodiments, it is understood that the wordswhich have been used herein are words of description and illustration,rather than words of limitation. Changes may be made, within the purviewof the appended claims, as presently stated and as amended, withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention in itsaspects. Although the present invention has been described herein withreference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosedherein; rather, the present invention extends to all functionallyequivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of reusing answers from prior forms tocomplete a computerized form for generating a response to a request fora grant proposal in a grant administration system, the methodcomprising: storing a plurality of previously-answered questions frommultiple asker organizations and previously-entered answers frommultiple responder organizations corresponding to the previouslyanswered questions in a centralized storage medium available for accessto both asker and responder organizations; securely facilitatingsimultaneous communication between said asker and responderorganizations to allow multi-party addition of information; operativelyconnecting the centralized storage medium to a login module; wherein apreviously-answered question and previously-entered answer from a priorproposal are stored as a question/answer pair; wherein saidpreviously-answered questions and previously-entered answers andinformation pertaining to said previously-answered questions andpreviously-entered answers are accessible to a responding user;presenting a question to the responding user associated with anorganization, wherein the question is part of a form to be completed,wherein said form is capable of being generated by the responding userand/or by an asker; identifying a previously-answered question deemedsimilar to a current question; increasingly identifying more questionsas similar to each other; updating an interactive database; providing atemplate tool that provides the responding user the ability to reuse atleast a portion of an answer to a previously-answered question andallowing both the asker and the responder to reuse questions from otheraskers; allowing both the responding user and a user at an askerorganization to add a new question thereby adding information to thedatabase; allowing a tag to be applied to the question being presentedand/or entered, wherein the tag links similar questions to be availableto both the asker and the responding user; using the template tool tosearch the centralized storage medium to locate static question/answerpairs having one or more tags in common with the question beingpresented and/or entered wherein the tags were applied by the respondinguser; presenting a list of static question/answer pairs that have one ormore tags in common with the question being presented and/or entered;allowing the responding user to select one of the previously-enteredanswers associated with a selected question/answer pair as a response tothe question being presented and/or entered; generating a new answer tothe question being presented and/or entered which comprises at least aportion of said selected previously-entered answer for generating aresponse to a request for a new grant proposal unrelated to the priorproposal; updating the centralized storage medium to add the questionbeing presented and/or entered and the new generated answer prior to theresponding user submitting said form; and associating the new generatedanswer with the question being presented and/or entered to generate anew static question/answer pair.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thepreviously-entered answers comprise a prose discussion of goals,accomplishments, organizational information, challenges, successstories, and/or numeric information about activities, outcomes, fundingsources, people served and/or budget information.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising storing the question being presented and theresponse to the question being presented in the centralized storagemedium when the responding user saves the response.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein responding users of multiple organizations complete thecomputerized form.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein a user at aresponder organization and a user at an asker organization are allowedto add information to the database that relates to a different askerorganization.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag is applied by adatabase operator.
 7. An apparatus for reusing answers from a prior formto complete a computerized form for generating a response to a requestfor a grant proposal, the apparatus being part of a grant administrationsystem, and comprising: a centralized storage medium comprising aplurality of previously-answered questions from multiple askerorganizations and previously-entered answers from multiple responderorganizations corresponding to the previously-answered questions from aprior proposal available for access to both asker and responderorganizations to allow multi-party addition of information, wherein thepreviously-entered answers were entered by a responding user associatedwith an organization, wherein said previously-answered questions andpreviously-entered answers and information pertaining to saidpreviously-answered questions and previously-entered answers areaccessible to the responding user, wherein the previously-answeredquestion and previously-entered answer are stored as a staticquestion/answer pair in the centralized storage medium which securelyfacilitates simultaneous communication between said asker and responderorganizations, and wherein the centralized storage medium is operativelyconnected to a login module; and a computer network interface connectedto the centralized storage medium, wherein the computer networkinterface is operable to: (a) present a question to the responding userassociated with an organization, wherein the question is part of a formto be completed, wherein said form is capable of being generated by theresponding user and/or an asker and identifying a previously-answeredquestion deemed similar to a current question; (b) increasingly identifymore questions as similar to each other and update an interactivedatabase by providing a template tool that provides the responding userthe ability to reuse at least a portion of an answer to apreviously-answered question and allowing both the asker and theresponder to reuse questions from other askers; (c) allow both theresponding user and a user at an asker organization to add a newquestion thereby adding information to the database; (d) allow a tag tobe applied to the question being presented and/or entered, wherein thetag links similar questions to be available to both the asker and theresponding user, (e) using the template tool to search the centralizedstorage medium to locate static question/answer pairs that have one ormore tags in common with the question being presented and/or entered,(f) present the responding user with a list of question/answer pairsthat have one or more tags in common with the question being presentedand/or entered, (g) allow the responding user to select one of thepreviously-entered answers associated with a selected question/answerpair as a response to the question being presented and/or entered, (h)generate a new answer to the question being presented and/or enteredusing at least a portion of said selected previously-entered answer togenerate a response to a request for a new grant proposal unrelated tothe prior proposal, and (i) update the centralized storage medium to addsaid generated answer prior to the responding user submitting said form;and (j) associate the new generated answer with the question beingpresented and/or entered to generate a new static question/answer pair.8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the previously-entered answerscomprise a prose discussion of goals, accomplishments, organizationalinformation, challenges, success stories, and/or numeric informationabout activities, outcomes, funding sources, people served and/or budgetinformation.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the computer networkinterface is operable to store the question being presented and theselected response in the centralized storage medium when the respondinguser saves the response.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, whereinresponding users of multiple organizations complete the computerizedform.
 11. A method of reusing answers from prior forms for generating agrant report in a grant administration system, the method comprising:storing a plurality of previously-answered questions from multiple askerorganizations and previously-entered answers from multiple responderorganizations corresponding to the previously answered questions from aprior proposal in a centralized storage medium available for access toboth asker and responder organizations, wherein said previously-answeredquestions and previously-entered answers and information pertaining tosaid previously-answered questions and previously-entered answers areaccessible to a responding user, wherein a previously-answered questionand previously-entered answer are stored as a static question/answerpair in the centralized storage medium; securely facilitatingsimultaneous communication between said asker and responderorganizations to allow multi-party addition of information; operativelyconnecting the centralized storage medium to a login module; presentinga question to the responding user associated, wherein the question ispart of a form to be generated, wherein said form is capable of beinggenerated by the responding user and/or an asker; identifying apreviously-answered question deemed similar to a current question;increasingly identifying more questions as similar to each other;updating an interactive database by providing a template tool thatprovides the responding user the ability to reuse at least a portion ofan answer to a previously-answered question and allowing both the askerand the responder to reuse questions from other askers; allowing boththe responding user and a user at an asker organization to add a newquestion thereby adding information to the database; allowing a tag tobe applied to the question being presented and/or entered, wherein thetag links similar questions to be available to both the asker and theresponding user; using the template tool to search the centralizedstorage medium to locate static question/answer pairs having one or moretags in common with the question being presented and/or entered, whereinthe tags were applied by the responding user; presenting a list ofquestion/answer pairs that have one or more tags in common with thequestion being presented and/or entered; allowing the responding user toselect one of the previously-entered answers associated with a selectedquestion/answer pair as a response to the question being presentedand/or entered; generating a new answer to the question being presentedand/or entered which comprises at least a portion of said selectedpreviously-entered answer for generating a form; updating thecentralized storage medium to add the question being presented and/orentered and the new generated answer prior to the responding usersubmitting said form; and associating the new generated answer with thequestion being presented and/or entered to generate a new staticquestion/answer pair unrelated to the prior proposal.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the previously-entered answers comprise a prosediscussion of goals, accomplishments, organizational information,challenges, success stories, and/or numeric information aboutactivities, outcomes, funding sources, people served and/or budgetinformation.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising storing thequestion being presented and the response to the question beingpresented in the centralized storage medium when the responding usersaves the response.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein responding usersof multiple organizations complete the computerized form.
 15. Anapparatus for reusing answers from a prior form to generate a form, theapparatus being part of a grant administration system, and comprising: acentralized storage medium comprising a plurality of previously-answeredquestions from multiple asker organizations and previously-enteredanswers from multiple responder organizations corresponding to thepreviously-answered questions from a prior proposal available for accessto both asker and responder organizations, that securely facilitatessimultaneous communication between said asker and responderorganizations to allow multi-party addition of information, wherein thepreviously-entered answers were entered by a responding user associatedwith an organization, wherein said previously-answered questions andpreviously-entered answers and information pertaining to saidpreviously-answered questions and previously-entered answers areaccessible to the responding user, wherein the previously-answeredquestion and previously-entered answer are stored as a staticquestion/answer pair, and wherein the centralized storage medium isoperatively connected to a login module; and a computer networkinterface connected to the centralized storage medium, wherein thecomputer network interface is operable to: (a) present a question to theresponding user, wherein the question is part of a to be generated,wherein said form is capable of being generated by the responding userand/or an asker and identifying a previously-answered question deemedsimilar to a current question; (b) increasingly identify more questionsas similar to each other and update an interactive database by providinga template tool that provides the responding user the ability to reuseat least a portion of an answer to a previously-answered question, add anew question and allowing both the asker and the responder to reusequestions from other askers, thereby adding information to the database;(c) allow a tag to be applied to the question being presented and/orentered, wherein the tag links similar questions to be available to boththe asker and the responding user, (d) using the template tool to searchthe centralized storage medium to locate static question/answer pairsthat have one or more tags in common with the question being presentedand/or entered, (e) present the responding user with a list ofquestion/answer pairs that have one or more tags in common with thequestion being presented and/or entered, (f) allow the responding userto select one of the previously-entered answers associated with aselected question/answer pair as a response to the question beingpresented and/or entered, (g) generate a new answer to the questionbeing presented using at least a portion of said selectedpreviously-entered answer to generate a response to a request for agrant, (h) update the centralized storage medium to add said generatedanswer prior to the responding user submitting said form; and (i)associate the new generated answer with the question being presented togenerate a new static question/answer pair unrelated to the priorproposal.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the form comprises agrant report.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein thepreviously-entered answers comprise a prose discussion of goals,accomplishments, organizational information, challenges, successstories, and/or numeric information about activities, outcomes, fundingsources, people served and/or budget information.
 18. The apparatus ofclaim 15, wherein the computer network interface is operable to storethe question being presented and the selected response in thecentralized storage medium when the responding user saves the response.19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein responding users of multipleorganizations complete the computerized form.